Virtual appliance

Install HAProxy ALOHA on VMware VSphere

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This section describes how to install the virtual appliance on VMware VSphere.

Install the virtual appliance on VMware VSphere Jump to heading

Follow these steps to install HAProxy ALOHA on VMware VSphere.

  1. From the HAProxy Technologies Customer Portal, create a new support ticket to request your download credentials.

  2. Browse to the URL https://www.haproxy.com/download/aloha/16.5/va-installer. Enter your credentials to access the folder.

  3. Download the file aloha-albva-vsphere.zip and extract its contents.

  4. Open vCenter (such as via the vSphere Client) and create a new virtual machine:

    • Right click on your datacenter and choose Deploy OVF Template.
    • Choose Local file and then upload the files aloha-albva.ovf and aloha-albva-disk1.vmdk.
    • Complete the wizard to import the virtual machine.

OVF properties Jump to heading

Minimum ESX version

To use this feature, you must use VMware ESX version >= 5.5 and ALOHA version >= 11.0.

Open Virtualization Format (OVF) is an open-source standard for packaging and distributing software applications for virtual machines (VM). In HAProxy ALOHA, you can use OVF properties in VMware to set parameters on your virtual machine and have them apply automatically on boot.

Property Example Description
hostname MYALOHA Specifies the hostname that the virtual machine should have when it is deployed. During the deployment process, this value will be used to assign the hostname to the VM. For example, if you set hostname to “my-vm”, the VM will have the hostname “my-vm” when it starts up.
admin_password Stc1fl15oGv4 Represents the initial administrative or root password set for the virtual machine’s operating system. During deployment, this password is usually used to set up the initial login credentials for the VM’s administrator or root account. It’s important to secure this value because it provides access to the VM’s administrative functions.
vami.ip0.aloha 192.168.0.200 This property is related to the initial IP address configuration of the virtual appliance, often used in VMware vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) deployments.
vami.netmask0.aloha 255.255.255.0 Corresponds to the netmask or subnet mask for the IP address specified in vami.ip0.aloha. It defines the network range to which the IP address belongs, helping determine which other devices are in the same network.
vami.gateway.aloha 192.168.0.1 Represents the gateway or router IP address that the virtual appliance should use for outbound network traffic. The gateway is crucial for routing traffic between the virtual appliance and external networks or the internet. Ensure that the provided IP address is a valid gateway for the network.
vami.DNS.aloha 8.8.8.8 Specifies the DNS server that the virtual appliance should use for name resolution. Proper DNS configuration is essential for the virtual appliance to resolve domain names to IP addresses. This ensures that the appliance can access external resources using domain names.

You can define the OVF properties using the VMware user interface or the command line.

Define OVF properties in the VMware UI Jump to heading

  1. Extract aloha-albva.ovf and aloha-albva-disk1.vmdk from the aloha-albva-vsphere.zip archive you were provided by HAProxy Technologies.

  2. Log in to VMware ESXi.

  3. Create a new virtual machine. Select Deploy a virtual machine from an OVF or OVA file as the creation type.

  4. Enter the name of your appliance, and select aloha-albva.ovf and aloha-albva-disk1.vmdk.

  5. Specify the additional settings of your appliance including items such as the IP Address, Netmask, and Default Gateway.

  6. Deploy your virtual appliance.

Define OVF properties using the command line Jump to heading

  1. Define your OVF properties using the command line with your network information, as follows:

    nix
    sudo ovftool --overwrite \
      --name=<hostname> \
      --network="<network name>" \
      --X:logLevel=verbose \
      --X:injectOvfEnv  \
      --powerOn \
      --prop:vami.ip0.aloha=<IP address> \
      --prop:vami.netmask0.aloha=<subnet mask> \
      --prop:vami.gateway.<Gateway IP address> \
      aloha-albva.ovf vi://<username>:<password>\!@<VMware ESXi IP address>
    nix
    sudo ovftool --overwrite \
      --name=<hostname> \
      --network="<network name>" \
      --X:logLevel=verbose \
      --X:injectOvfEnv  \
      --powerOn \
      --prop:vami.ip0.aloha=<IP address> \
      --prop:vami.netmask0.aloha=<subnet mask> \
      --prop:vami.gateway.<Gateway IP address> \
      aloha-albva.ovf vi://<username>:<password>\!@<VMware ESXi IP address>

    For example:

    nix
    sudo ovftool --overwrite \
      --name=MYALOHA \
      --network="VM Network" \
      --X:logLevel=verbose \
      --X:injectOvfEnv \
      --powerOn \
      --prop:vami.ip0.aloha=192.168.0.200 \
      --prop:vami.netmask0.aloha=255.255.255.0 \
      --prop:vami.gateway.192.168.0.1 \
      aloha-albva.ovf vi://jdoe:Stc1fl15oGv4\!@10.10.1.24
    nix
    sudo ovftool --overwrite \
      --name=MYALOHA \
      --network="VM Network" \
      --X:logLevel=verbose \
      --X:injectOvfEnv \
      --powerOn \
      --prop:vami.ip0.aloha=192.168.0.200 \
      --prop:vami.netmask0.aloha=255.255.255.0 \
      --prop:vami.gateway.192.168.0.1 \
      aloha-albva.ovf vi://jdoe:Stc1fl15oGv4\!@10.10.1.24

    You may have to specify a datastore, for example: sudo ovftool --datastore=datastore0 [...].

  2. Log in to your VMware ESXi™ account. Your virtual appliance is up and running.

Assign an IP address Jump to heading

You must assign an IP address belonging to the internal network to your HAProxy ALOHA appliance. Although you have the option of using DHCP to assign an IP address dynamically, which is useful for connecting to the HAProxy ALOHA for the first time before you’ve set up a static IP, it is typical to prefer a static IP, since you will want HAProxy ALOHA to have a predictable address on your network.

When starting your appliance for the first time, you can either:

  • use DHCP to assign an IP address dynamically, then assign a static address either through the web user interface or the CLI, or
  • assign a static address to the appliance immediately.

Once you have assigned an IP address, you can then connect to the HAProxy ALOHA web UI and change IP address assignments using the graphical interface.

Use DHCP Jump to heading

By default, DHCP automatically assigns an IP address to your HAProxy ALOHA virtual appliance at first boot.

  1. Start your virtual appliance. The following message displays:

    text
    Retrieve IP using DHCP or configure static ... 10sec (D/s)?
    text
    Retrieve IP using DHCP or configure static ... 10sec (D/s)?

  2. Enter D for DHCP or wait for 10 seconds. The web UI’s URL displays, for example:

    text
    Access WEB User Interface: http://192.168.1.71:4444
    text
    Access WEB User Interface: http://192.168.1.71:4444

Later, you should assign a static IP address to the appliance.

Save the changed configuration by executing config save in the CLI.

Assign a static IP address Jump to heading

  1. Start your appliance. The following message displays:

    text
    Retrieve IP using DHCP or configure static ... 10sec (D/s)?
    text
    Retrieve IP using DHCP or configure static ... 10sec (D/s)?

  2. Enter s to enter a static IP address. When no DHCP server is available, this is the default mode. The following message displays:

    text
    Configure IP manually
    Use IP address (192.186.0.200)?
    text
    Configure IP manually
    Use IP address (192.186.0.200)?

  3. Enter the IP address you want to assign to the appliance. The following message displays:

    text
    Use netmask (255.255.255.0)?
    text
    Use netmask (255.255.255.0)?

  4. Enter the netmask you want to assign to the appliance. The following message displays:

    text
    Use default gateway (192.186.0.1)?
    text
    Use default gateway (192.186.0.1)?

  5. Optional: Enter the IP address of the appliance’s default gateway. The following message displays:

    text
    Commit and save this configuration (N/y)?
    text
    Commit and save this configuration (N/y)?

  6. To save your configuration, enter y. The web UI’s URL displays, for example:

    text
    Access WEB User Interface: http://192.168.0.200:4444
    text
    Access WEB User Interface: http://192.168.0.200:4444

You can now access the HAProxy ALOHA web UI at the address http://<IP Address>:4444/.

Log in to the web user interface Jump to heading

Copy the Access WEB User Interface address that’s displayed when you connect to the command-line terminal. This takes you to a login screen.

To log in, use the username and password admin.

Once logged in, run the initial configuration wizard.

See also Jump to heading

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